Definitive Answers on Traffic, Traffic Incentives

NOTE: I understand and have been reading the discussion about whether or not stipends and incentives are good for the SL economy and I don't want to address that in this thread, please.

I've scoured the forum for information on Traffic and TI. I have to say that what is available is vague and lacking in details. What I want - need - to understand right now is how the heck does Traffic and TI work? I've read the posts in the Hotline Archive ( here is one: /16/ff/23421/1.html ) and the information on the subject just doesn't cut it.

Let me define some variables about Traffic based on my understanding and from the reading I have done on the subject.

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vTraffic = A numeric value ascribed to a given plot of land that represents, in some unknown way, the number of visitors over a given period of time.

vFrequency = The period used to calculate Traffic (daily? hourly?).

vVisitors = Number of visitors to a given plot of land.

vDuration = Visit duration which must be at least 5 minutes in order for a given visitor's impact on Traffic will be factored in.
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I have a handful of questions for anyone who can answer, having defined the above.

1) What is the purpose of using camping chairs as incentive for visitors if the only visit duration requirement is at least 5 minutes?
2) Is Traffic, in fact, based on visit duration time in addition to number of visitors? If so this seems to contradict previous Linden posts.
3) How does Linden Labs translate vVisitors, vDuration and vFrequency into vTraffic?

I think these are reasonable questions and if I have missed any other variables that we are sure belong here please reply and add them. I can think of many possible variables but those are the only ones I am sure of.

Now let's define the financial variables.

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vPayment = The $L paid out to individuals or groups who own land based on their traffic value.

vRate = Some numeric value or algorithm used to determine how many $L get paid out based on the numeric VTraffic value.

vPaymentPeriod = Daily. Those of us who receive TI know that we get paid daily for traffic when there is TI to be paid.
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Now here are the incentive questions I want answered:

1) What vTraffic value belongs to the $L we get paid daily? Today's vTraffic? Yesterday? Last week?
2) What is vRate? What is the actual algorithm used to calculate TI based on vTraffic?


People are moving more and more in the direction of treating the Secondlife economy like a growing, viable economy of its own. For many SL "industries" this is already proving true. This is very exciting to watch develop and to see the value of member-created and contributed content grow in value as well.

I am a builder, explorer, texturer, pose maker, clothing maker, object maker and script writer, albeit on a smaller scale than some of my more exalted peers (props to you for your hard work).

But I am a "taxpayer" and every time they bill me for my monthly membership and land fees, part of that money is used to pay out stipends and incentives to the larger community. I am not going to make any statements about whether or not this should be done (see the NOTE above), but while such monies are being disbursed I think that all SL residents, especially we who contribute to the "government budget" (paying members), should be provided with an explanation of how it works!

Please help me understand the variables. Tell me I am insane. Tell me "I'd tell you but I would have to kill you" if you must. But someone out there must understand how this works and can explain it to us all in a clear, concise manner.

It's not a moot topic while the incentives continue. What is so secret about this?

I just want it all to make sense!

The only thing I understand about traffic is: It's not just getting folks to stay on your land for 5 minutes. It's getting folks to spend most of their time logged into SL within a 24 hour period on your parcel. Beyond that it's beyond me.

From my little understanding, each account has a certain number of dwell points per day. Every parcel they visit and stay at least 5 minutes on receives an equal share of those points. Then LL decides how much money to put into dwell each night and it is devided up equally based on the number of dwell points each parcel received.

So a simple example, using made up numbers:

* 4 Accounts
* 10 dwell points per account
* L$40 in dwell per night
* Each parcel visited, W, X, Y, Z, the account stays there for at least 5 minutes.

Account A spends 100% of their time on 3/11/06 in Parcel X.
Account B spends 50% of their time in Parcel X, and 50% in Parcel Y.
Account C spends 25% on Parcel X, 25% on Parcel Y, and 50% on Parcel Z.
Account D spends 25% of their time on each, W, X, Y and Z

Dwell Points:
Parcel W - 2.5pts (0 + 0 + 0 + 2.5)
Parcel X - 20pts (10 + 5 + 2.5 + 2.5)
Parcel Y - 10pts (0 + 5 + 2.5 + 2.5)
Parcel Z - 7.5pts (0 +0 + 5 + 2.5)

Dwell Reward:
Parcel W - L$2
Parcel X - L$20
Parcel Y - L$10
Parcel Z - L$7

And yes, that doesn't add back up to L$ because I'd assume LL would round down all fractions.

Those numbers are all made up, but I believe from what I've read here and there, and from what I've heard in game -- the dwell system works somewhat like that.

So if you can get a 10 free basic account holders to log in every day, and spend 100% of their time in your parcel, your dwell reward will be larger. So getting them to stay 15 minutes instead of 10 is of no extra value. You need to get them to stay until they log off.

traffic and dwell aren't the same thing. Dwell if an avi logs in for 5 minutes on your property then logs out you get as much as if they spent 24 hrs on your property. However traffic is time based and I think its only based on how long they spend on your property not how long they spend on. The 5 minute example above won't generate much traffic. No I don't have formula's just clear evidence that proves the above factors on traffic.

Traffic = dwell. It was a name change a few versions ago.

Static's example reflects my understanding of traffic calculations.

something torley said as a responce to someone question.. from my understand the dwell/traffic is register once 5 minutes has past.. the dwell does not change after that once your dwell is register at the 5 minute mark thats it.. a land does not gain anymore dwell from you after that no matter how long you stay on the land after.

but there more about dwell there /16/ff/23421/1.html

/16/ff/23421/1.html

This is a direct quote from Haney Linden in the URL provided by Jackson Callisto. It clearly says that it does not matter how much time they spend on a given plot.

Again, so what is the purpose of camping if it doesn't factor in? Oy, well maybe we will never know. I am tracking my traffic and incentive payouts for March and will share the data once I have it. It would be interesting if one of the big kids (like Jvizzle from Ice Dragons) were to weigh in... they are the once who have the most traffic.

Easy.

Owners have no way of knowing if 'campers' spend the majority of their time in the campground. So they pay them out slowly, forcing campers to stay there a lengthy amount of time, therefore a better guarentee that the majority of a persons dwell will go to the land owners.

What would happen if an owner paid out campers quickly? The campers would take the money then go to another campground and make more money, therefore a loss in dwell.

This is exactly right.

When I read Torley's post, the facts are correct- (no offence, Torley ), but its a little deceptive.

Dwell is only measured if you spend 5 minutes or more on a property. Spend 4 minutes and 59 seconds, and it doesn't count.

Additionally, you give out the same pool of dwell points regardless of whether you spent 5 minutes or 5 hours in Second Life on a given day - That's where Torley is correct.

However, Torley's explanation is deceptive in how those points are distributed.

As Chris indicated above - Camping Chairs ensure that the establishment will get the greatest share of dwell points from the resident for that day, by watering down any percentage of time spent by the resident elsewhere.

Say Resident X went to an hour event at the Shelter, then left to go to ACME Camping Chair Emporium.

If resident X spent 1 hour at ACME, then logged off for the day, that means that:

Shelter gets 50% of resident X's dwell points
ACME gets 50% of resident X's dwell points.

However, Say ACME can entice that user to not log off - to instead, spent 9 hours in a camp chair, and then log off.

Now:

Shelter gets 10% of resident X's dwell points
ACME gets 90% of resident X's dwell points.

Same amount of Total points, different distribution. That's the difference.

No offense taken--that's why I also linked to the fuller explanation to read on and learn more.

Thanx for the explanations, everyone!

Residents helping Residents = you rock.